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Friday, November 27, 2015

I want to share what I believe is a very effective abundance prayer that I came across at the beginning of this month. I wasn't going to talk about it here before test driving it first and giving it a chance to see some results. I'm happy to report that while there hasn't been any earth shattering movement in my life since making it a daily habit to recite this prayer, I have experienced some small, positive changes and that's a step in the right direction!I discovered this prayer almost a month ago when I was Googling success stories in attracting money. I think I typed in "how I manifested $10,000" (or a large amount similar to that) when one of the first hits was a post from a woman who attracted $30,000 using this prayer that she herself found online during a sad period in her life. I should stop for a moment and admit that I no longer "pray" in the traditional sense of the word, or the way I learned to do it growing up in the Catholic church. Praying to me has always seemed to be the equivalent of asking or even begging...i.e., "PLEASE God, help me!" or saying, "If thy will be done, I know that you will give me x." I have found through the years that this type of praying almost never works, and believe it's a major reason why some people lose their faith or stop believing in the existence of a higher power altogether. The good news is the tone and words of this abundance prayer are not anything like that at all, and that's why I believe it's so much more powerful. This is a law of attraction prayer, not a Sunday school type prayer. The other factor that made me believe that this prayer was different were the glowing testimonials from other people who have tried it. The author of the post I found mentioned that she came across it on an online forum, and there were dozens of members that raved about the many positive changes that had occurred in their lives just weeks after saying the prayer. Some attracted unexpected money, but others attracted new friendships, partners, and other blessings. Pretty much everyone claimed that good was coming into their lives once they started reciting the prayer every day. I'm going to copy and paste the prayer in a moment, but here's a few things that I've attracted in a few weeks since I've started to say it myself every day:*I made a new friend through my Meetup group, and we ended up seeing The Peanuts Movie together (after I was prepared to see it by myself since I didn't think anyone wanted to go with me.) She actually called me out of the blue one day and we ended up having a nice phone conversation. I'm also currently taking care of her cat this week while she's out of state visiting her mother for the Thanksgiving holiday, and she's paying me for that. I've done it for her already twice now, but the request was last minute this time and thus, unexpected money. *I got hired for a quick freelance writing job through a freelancing website I've been using for a year, but up until now hadn't had any luck with. *I finally achieved peace regarding something that was still bothering me from time to time and I was finally able to -- like the song from Frozen says -- "let it go." *The CEO of the company I manage social media for sent me a couple of their products in the mail as an unexpected, additional thank you for the work I do for them; it was an unexpected surprise. *That same company has been giving me more work to do this month, thus more hours which they pay me for. *The advertising revenue on my other blog, Go Retro, increased this month. I used to be lucky if I made 50 cents a day, and really lucky if I made $1...so far this month I've had 12 days where I made over $1 and today the revenue really jumped up to a level I haven't seen in a very long time. *I quit betting on horse racing online, which was becoming borderline addictive. I'll talk about this in another blog post soon and why it wasn't my pathway to abundance. (Hint: I consistently lost more money than I won. Go figure.)*In general I feel like my old self again, happy with each new day and tuned in again with my inner being. I try to say this prayer twice a day; once during the morning and again before I go to bed. I say the words out loud and really feel them and believe them. On a couple of days when I felt a little down and needed extra strength, I repeated the prayer a few times and it really did help. Here it is:From The Light of God that I Am.From The Love of God that I Am.From The Power of God that I Am.From The Heart of God that I Am.I decree:I dwell in the midst of infinite abundance. The abundance of God is my infinite source.The river of life never stops flowing. It flows through me into lavish expression. Good comes to me through unexpected avenues and God works in a myriad of ways to bless me. I now open my mind to receive my good. Nothing is too good to be true. Nothing is too wonderful to have happen. With God as my source, nothing amazes me. I am not burdened by thoughts of past or future. One is gone. The other is yet to come. By the power of my belief, coupled with my purposeful, fearless actions and my deep rapport with God, my future is created and my abundance made manifest. I ask and accept that I am lifted in this and every moment into higher truth.My mind is quiet. From this day forward I give freely and fearlessly into life and life gives back to me with magnificent increase. Blessings come in expected and unexpected ways. God provides for me in wondrous ways. I AM indeed grateful. And I let it be so.I wish the same for the goodness of all. - Author unknownCan you hear how the tone of this prayer is drastically different from the ones you may have grown up learning as a child? It isn't asking God for abundance and then sitting back and hoping that something good will happen, if God decides that it shall be so. No, you're declaring to the Universe that you ARE receiving abundance. Right now. You have the power and you're tapping into it as you recite the words. If you believe as you declare this prayer, the blessings are on their way. The Universe is delivering it to you. You just have to believe. When I first started saying this prayer, I couldn't do it without tearing up -- I guess I was still feeling some resistance in some way or that I wasn't 100% worthy, or that abundance just wasn't possible for me even though I had achieved it before. But now I nearly know the entire prayer by heart, and can say it with steadfast belief and confidence. If you try this prayer -- and I hope you will -- I hope you'll report in the comments what positive changes or pleasant surprises you're experiencing in your life. I would love to hear about them. Give it a try -- you have nothing to lose except your skepticism.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

I don't mean to sound cynical or negative, but I've recently come to the conclusion that the holidays are overrated. It would make a great topic for a more in-depth post, but for now, let me just say that as I've gotten older I've noticed that there's so much hype and expectation for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be perfect days. Everyone is expected to spend it with family and have a perfect meal, and an enjoyable day with no fights, disagreements, or petty remarks. And when you were a kid, didn't it seem -- thanks to recurring themes in movies and TV specials -- that the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was supposed to be a magical time? That anything was possible and in fact, we almost expected something miraculous to take place during this time of year. We've all heard of Christmas miracles. Except...there is no miracle. I hate to break it to you in case you weren't aware, but Thanksgiving and Christmas are just ordinary days like the other 363 on the calendar. Just because it's a holiday doesn't mean that people don't die on that day. And Santa Claus won't be coming down the chimney with a new job for daddy who's been out of work all year. I point it out not to be morose, but because I found the above quote earlier today and it serves as a reminder that all of us always have something to be grateful about. It also reminded me of people I know who had to spend this holiday alone or at least, without family members simply because they don't have any. For a lot of people, this time of year is anything but miraculous. It can be an especially lousy time if you've recently lost someone you were close to. One of those people is a lovely young woman named Allison who runs a music website I've written for from time to time. Earlier this year Allison was in my neck of the woods for a wedding and we met up in person for the first time. She was very close to her mother -- her only relative. She was an only child and her father had passed away when she was quite young. During the meal, she took a brief call from her mother and told me it was a daily ritual for them to speak to each other for a few minutes and wish each other goodnight. I'm connected to Allison on Facebook, and a few weeks ago I learned that her mother died quite unexpectedly. Allison had lived in New York for several years but relocated to L.A. during the summer. Her mother still lived in her home state, Ohio. I spent today's Thanksgiving with my own mother -- and only her. She had decided not to host my siblings and their children any longer at our house because it's just too much work and I don't blame her. Plus, she had triple bypass surgery over the summer so she has the best excuse not to make an enormous meal any more. I will admit that while I enjoyed the day, earlier my mind wandered to things I don't have...and how this was going to be yet another holiday season without those things. Then I thought of Allison. She'd been understandably staying away from Facebook the past few weeks, and I had no idea what her plans were, if any, for the day. Did she have a roommate who was staying around for the holiday weekend? Was she invited to have the meal with a friend?I sent her an email today to let her know I was thinking of her. I remembered how tough it was when my father passed away in the month of November several years ago, and how our family had to face Thanksgiving and Christmas so soon after his death. And yet I had my mother and siblings, and we all got each other through it. Allison has no other family members to support her. I complain sometimes about my mother to my friends...but the quote above made me realize that I'm still thankful and lucky that she's still in my life. I'm grateful that she made it through her surgery with flying colors. It also made me think of other people I know that probably spent today on their own, or those that would consider their own lives far from being a fairy tale. If you were one of them -- well, it sounds like a cliche, but you're not alone. You're not the only one. And I still hope, no matter how difficult it may seem, that you still found some things to be grateful about.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

I firmly believe that I cleared up my psoriasis a few years ago using the law of attraction -- and not just sent it into remission, but stopped it for good. It came after years of trying different remedies that didn't do much to help my skin and only made me disappointed. After I learned about the law of attraction and the effects your thinking and beliefs have on the cells of your body, I figured I had nothing to lose. Here's the backstory and the techniques I used to send it packing.I was in my mid-20s when psoriasis showed up on my skin. I developed a round, red, very itchy rash out of nowhere one day on the back of my neck that was also partially on the bottom of my scalp. I was also getting the same rash in the crooks of both arms (the other side of my elbows.) The first dermatologist I went to, who was my mother's, shrugged it off as nothing and just gave me a prescription for extra strength hydrocortisone cream. That did nothing, so I sought a second opinion. As soon as the second doctor saw the rash on my hairline, he said it was psoriasis and gave me samples for a steroid-based foam to apply to it and a prescription.For those that don't know, psoriasis is a skin disorder where the skin cells multiply too quickly and often form scaly, silverly patches from the build-up. While there's no cure, it's been determined that it's linked to the body's auto-immnune system which malfunctions -- for lack of a better word -- causing the skin cells to go into haywire.Over the next few years, the rash would flare up and die down, but it would never go away completely. Although the steroid applications helped, I really didn't want to use them all of the time and worried about the long-term effects they might have on my skin. I often couldn't pull my hair back in a ponytail or put it up because of the rash, and going to the hairdresser was a little embarrassing...and when they used the hot dryer on the area while styling my hair, of course that would irritate it. I also had to be careful when touching up my color, taking extra care to keep the dye away from the rash.At the same time, a tiny, itchy, scaly spot of psoriasis would appear at times on my legs or hips, and I was also getting some form of it on my back; while this area didn't itch, it almost looked and felt like I had adult acne on that part of my body. I tried not to panic because I felt that could make it worse, but all I could think of was meeting a man that I hit it off with only to have to tell him in time about my awful looking skin. Furthermore, I was pretty sure no one would want to put their hands on my back and what a turn-off it would be for anyone to have to look at it and touch it. I did research into psoriasis and visited some forums to learn what other patients were doing and what was helping them. Of course, there were no tried-and-true cures. Some people claimed that changing their diet and flushing toxins from their system cleared up their psoriasis; others had traveled to the Dead Sea, hoping that the high sodium content would cure their skin. As for myself, I consider myself a pretty healthy eater so I tried some over-the-counter psoriasis remedies that had minimal results; a shampoo by Neutrogena with an awful, medicine-like smell, and soap made with Dead Sea salt, something that's been known to help some psoriasis sufferers. Both would take the edge off the rash but didn't do much to fade it. I more or less lived with the flare-ups over the next decade or so.Once I learned about the law of attraction and read Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" as well as "The Secret" and a couple of other books, I decided that I was going to see if I could use the power of my thoughts and energy to have an effect on my psoriasis. So many of the teachings talked a lot about using the law of attraction to heal the human body and how our thoughts and beliefs affect our cells. At this point I figured it was worth a shot since nothing else had worked and I didn't want to rely on medications or prescription ointments for the rest of my life. I was going to instead heal my body from the inside out.I started with being grateful for the simple fact that my psoriasis was on the really mild side. Even though the rashes were irritating, I knew that it could be much worse; there are people who have more noticeable and chronic psoriasis and those that suffer from arthritic psoriasis, where the joints are actually affected by the condition. I had neither and my rash was easily hidden by my hair, so I gave thanks that at least I had that going for me (although I had read horror stories about the rash spreading across the scalp, and I was worried that that was going to eventually happen to me if I didn't do something about it.)I thought and said out loud a lot of positive affirmations that painted the picture of how I wanted my skin to be....i.e, "My skin is beautiful and clear," "My rashes are gone," "I have clear, beautiful, psoriasis-free skin," "My skin is healing," "I can wear my hair up because the back of my neck is beautiful," etc. When I took a shower and stripped my clothes off I'd look in the mirror and repeat these affirmations. However, I didn't just think and recite them -- I made the effort to believe them, to feel them at my core.It's really important to note that every affirmation I came up with was in the present tense...not, "I am going to have beautiful, clear skin," but "I have beautiful, clear skin."And when I showered, I'd imagine that the rashes were fading away as I washed them.I also meditated a bit. I'd read that stress is often cited as a cause of psoriasis, so I decided that I was going to feel as good and free of stress as possible and eradicate as much worrying and negative feelings as I could. When I meditated, I pictured my body healing from the inside out and showing itself on the outside as beautiful, psoriasis-free skin. I would tell myself that my body was healing from the inside out, and that my immune system and cells functioned beautifully. I sent loving thoughts and appreciation to my body. I would put my fingers on my rash and affirm that it was healing and fading away. I would put my hands on my back and affirm that it was clear, smooth, beautiful, and psoriasis-free.Most importantly, I believed all of these affirmations with all of my heart and soul. My body was healing and my skin was healing as a result and I absolutely had no doubt.I'd repeat this process whenever I could -- while taking a shower, getting dressed, and taking a few minutes to meditate and focus on healing. The psoriasis didn't disappear overnight. But over the next few weeks, it started to fade...until one day I asked my mother for confirmation that there wasn't any trace of a rash on the back of my neck. There wasn't! I no longer got the rashes on my arms and I no longer had psoriasis on my back. In a matter of weeks it started to look better and it also got smooth again. I will confess that once in a blue moon, I do get a tiny spot on my legs or hips, and they do tend to come with the change of seasons....going from cold to warmer months or vice versa. However, they only last a couple of days and I just reaffirm everything that I did when the disorder was at its worst. As far as I'm concerned, the psoriasis that plagued me for years and previously thought would always be a part of my life is gone -- and I did it without prescription medication and ointments. I did it with my own mind and a steadfast faith.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

I admit that Facebook on occasion makes me jealous. Just when I've been feeling really good and happy for a long stretch of time, Facebook can suddenly catch me off guard and remind me of my lack, something I work on not focusing on. Sometimes when I see other people having life experiences that I would like to have (a loving relationship, a fulfilling career, a very active social life, and opportunities to travel) I do end up in tears. And for what? It's silly, really -- at least half of the people I'm connected to I'm really not friends with offline. Several of them are former coworkers that I'll probably never see in person again. But seeing other people supposedly getting ahead while you feel like your life has been put on hold in different areas can be tough. I'm not the only one; a study from last year revealed that many people can feel lousy about themselves and even get depressed after spending too much time on the social network. Jealousy is often pegged as a weakness and a character flaw, but I think it's only human to feel jealousy from time to time. I don't think of it as a bad thing or a negative quality as long as it isn't making you depressed or feeling vindictive. Many law of attraction teachers believe that jealousy is a sign that you still have some vibration clearing up to do, and resistance to believing in yourself that needs to be released. When I do start feeling sorry for myself because of what I've seen on Facebook -- as I did today -- then I know it's time to take a break from looking at my personal feed for a while. It's tricky because I manage the brand page for the company I freelance for and my other blog's Facebook page, so I have to type in the URL to go to them directly. It also feels a little hypocritical to advocate taking a break from social media when a good portion of my freelance job involves social media, but I'm not talking about deactivating your account; just taking a small break here and there. Without seeing what is going on in anyone else's life, I can stop comparing myself to them. I'm able to concentrate on what I currently have in my life and what's working for me. I also get a break from seeing an endless parade of political opinions, commentary about celebrities, memes, silly photos/videos, and other stuff that I have no interest in seeing (photos and videos of cats and Christoph Waltz, however, is perfectly A-OK in my book.)When Facebook starts getting on your nerves, it's also helps to remind yourself that not everything you see posted is authentic. Not everyone's life is perfect, no matter what they would like you to believe. People for the most part also tend to only post the most positive stuff on social media and slap happy face stickers on everything; you're never going to hear about the arguments that the happy married couples you're connected to have offline, or the temper tantrum or problems in school that their perfect child has. No one's life is 100% hunky dory all of the time, no matter how wonderful that perception may appear online. You're also going to gain some more time for yourself by not dabbling on Facebook every day; more time to read or partake in another hobby, which is always healthier for the soul then comparing yourself to other people, many of whom you may not even be that close to. So now I begin a Facebook sabbatical for maybe a week, maybe two weeks for my own good, to clear up my beliefs, and work through my own fleeting feelings of minor inadequacy. Maybe some filtering of posts from certain people when I get back is in order. Do you get jealous of others on Facebook, and what do you do to help you deal with it?

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Wait -- is she really writing a blog post about drinking water? The world's blandest beverage? Yes, I am -- and I hope you'll hear me out -- because there does seem to be a connection between water and positive energy. But first, an example/reminder of why it is so good for you to drink enough water. The before and after photos above are of a British woman who made headlines in the UK a couple of years ago after she decided to significantly increase her daily intake of water. The photographic evidence, in my opinion, is pretty impressive. Drinking enough water has done a better job of improving her skin and facial features than plastic surgery or makeup. She was 42 when this story broke, and she does indeed look younger in the after photo. Her lines have faded, the dark shadows under her eyes are gone, her skin tone is vastly improved, and her face absolutely glows. She went from having a morning cup of tea and two glasses a water a day to consuming 3 litres (which is the equivalent of 3/4 of a gallon in the U.S., or 12 cups) daily. Of course, there is such a thing as drinking too much water; really overdoing it can be dangerous. She was under the supervision of her general physician, who recommended the increased intake.

I've tried to calculate in my head the amount of water I drink on a daily basis and I think I'm at about the usual recommended 8 cups a day. That usually includes the cup of coffee I have every morning when I wake up. Ever since my teens I've been a big water drinker. I get parched really easily after meals if I don't drink water in between them. I rarely drink soda these days; ginger ale maybe once every couple of weeks and I save the coca-cola for pizza dinners. Don't care for water? Try adding some fresh mint leaves and a slice of lime and/or cucumber to your glass like in this photo -- this is my favorite way to enjoy it in the summer. It goes without saying that water hydrates your body and helps flush toxins from your digestive system. I personally also think it helps keep your breath fresh in between brushing and flossing your teeth because it's washing bacteria off the back of your tongue and helps keep your mouth hydrated. Here's the other cool thing about water (and brace yourself because it's going to sound weird) but it seems it is affected by the positive (or negative) energy that we give out. A Japanese scientist named Masaru Emoto was known for the many experiments he conducted on how water and ice crystals and how thoughts and music affected the shapes of the crystals. He published his findings in a 1999 book called Messages From Water. It sounds a little "out there" to be sure, but Emoto had groups of people either "pray" or send loving thoughts to water (such as "I love you" and "you are beautiful") or hateful thoughts ("you're ugly and worthless.") The frozen water crystals that had "received" the positive thoughts were perfectly formed, beautiful snowflake shapes. The water crystals that were the brunt of the negative thoughts and energy were really unattractive; misshapen and had dark colors. Here's a video clip showing some of the photos resulting from Emoto's experiment.

Considering that the human body is comprised of at least 60% water, it makes sense to me to having more positive thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can have an adverse affect on our bodies. Something that I've recently started doing is -- even if it sounds silly or trivial -- is just thinking a few seconds of appreciation and thankfulness for the clean water I have before I drink it. I appreciate that it's been filtered and made safe for me to drink, that it nourishes my body, and that it tastes good. I'm thankful that I live in a country where we have plenty of access to clean, healthy drinking water. So drink up that water, and maybe send a few positive vibes to it while you're at it. It certainly can't hurt.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

If you want to get depressed in a hurry or at least pessimistic, all you need to do is watch a local news station on a daily basis, and more than once a day. All of the law of attraction teachers that I'm aware of make it a habit not to watch the television news every day. There's a good reason for it. It's nothing but bad stuff -- murders, violence, car crashes, robberies, child and animal abuse, etc. Rinse and repeat, day in and day out. Sure, once in a while if we're lucky we hear about firefighters rescuing ducklings trying to cross a dangerous street to get to water, or a kid that survived cancer getting to meet Tom Brady. But those stories are far and few in between. After a while, it's very easy to believe that there's nothing but bad people and bad events happening in the world all thanks to the news. Don't get me wrong -- I still want to be informed, and I do watch the evening local news as well as the national/world news program. It's just that in the morning, I want to start the day off in a positive mood. I want to assume and believe that there are still good people in the world. I also like savoring my morning coffee and breakfast in peace. So unless I'm looking to get the weather forecast, I usually find it's a good idea not to switch on the TV most mornings. It's ironic that anchors will greet you with a cheery "Good morning!" before launching into the usual crappy stories. Instead, I prefer to get any headlines online in the morning. That's the beauty of reading the news, whether it's on your laptop or in the newspaper (I still get a Sunday paper.) You now have the option of selecting which stories you wish to read, and skipping any that you know will upset you. When you're watching a TV news station, however, you're being force-fed stories you don't want to hear about. One of my local news stations also has a bad habit of repeating stories they aired the previous day, another good reason for going online. Not absorbing the morning news every day definitely has helped me keep a more positive outlook more often and helps reinforce my belief that there are more good people in the world than bad ones. It's important to remember that the news just shows you a tiny slice of humanity, when there's a whole big world out there of people doing good that never get the credit. And this way, you also don't have to listen to any news about Kim Kardashian if you don't want to!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

About five years ago, when I was working a full-time marketing position, I realized that I really wanted to learn more about social media. Facebook, Twitter, and other channels were exploding with growth and usage, and I really wanted to try my hands at promoting a company on those sites and building a community of customers and fans.The problem was, the company I worked for at the time used an outside PR firm for their social media strategy and to create much of their content. And to be honest, I wanted to do it for a different industry -- one that was making a tangible product or providing a service to the general public.Then I got the idea, after watching ABC News feature companies making their products in the USA, that I really wanted to do it for a business that was keeping their workforce and manufacturing here in the U.S. At this time, so much production of various products previously dedicated to American workers was being moved to China and other countries. It became an important cause to me, and I found myself going out of my way to purchase American-made products here and there when I could and checking labels, because I knew every purchase could help keep someone's job sustainable.I don't remember if I wrote my wish down, but I definitely thought it in my head: "I want to learn and do social media, even if it's on a volunteer basis, for a company making their products here in the USA." I didn't care so much about the products as long as they were interesting to me, and I visualized the pride I would feel working for such a company.It wasn't long after this that I reached out to a few companies that I do know were making their products in the USA, but whose Facebook page and Twitter feeds were scant, making me think they obviously needed some assistance. When I didn't hear back from them, I didn't take it personally -- I just assumed that something better was coming, and I didn't care how I was going to find the company. I pretty much let the whole thing go and left it up to the universe to figure it out for me.It was in the spring of the following year (yes, the next year) that a company found my other blog, Go Retro, and reached out to me asking if I'd like to post a giveaway of one of their products, a set of BBQ skewers. I told the president of the company (who wrote to me) that I absolutely would, and when I looked at the company's website I was floored and my heart started to race. Everything they made was made in the USA...they were America's oldest housewares manufacturer...and they made all sorts of cool kitchen items and utensils as well as camping supplies.But what was even more astounding is that they had virtually no social media presence! There weren't any links on the website, and while their Facebook page and Twitter account existed, there were virtually no status updates done for either channel.This was the old saying, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity" and inspired action come to fruition. I was so excited about the possibility of building the social media channels for this company and spreading the word about their beautiful products that were made in the USA. I emailed the president and explained my marketing background to him and that I wanted to learn social media hands-on, especially for a company keeping their production in the States. I offered to take on his social media marketing, if even on a volunteer, unpaid basis.He wrote back and said he would check with the rest of his team to see what they thought. By the next day (or maybe it was later that same day) I was told that the duties were all mine.For the past four years I've been writing content for their social media channels which now also include Pinterest and Instagram. But my "duties" have gone way beyond that -- I write copy now for all of their new products, I author their company blog, I write and send out their monthly newsletter, and I'm in the middle of a huge SEO makeover for their website (we just completed a really important first step, which I'm proud about.) The president regularly consults me for my opinions on everything from the look of a product photo to competitor info. We hold giveaways all of the time on our social media channels that have been a huge hit and are driving new followers to the Facebook page. We've been featured in Country Living, Martha Stewart Living and several other publications. I can honestly say I've learned so much about social media marketing and the manufacturing process, too. I was told by the president that for the first time this year since he acquired the company, we may be surpassing $1M in sales, which would be an all-time record for us. I get told all of the time how valued my work and creativity is to the company's success.I'm so proud and grateful to be a part of this company, but there was another nice thing about the gig that happened for me. They started paying me for my services in late 2013. At first I only worked a few hours a week for them, but earlier this year I was entrusted with even more marketing duties and my number of hours has increased. We're getting ready to launch a ton of new products in time for the holidays and I'm really excited to see where we're headed into 2016.There's no doubt in my mind that I manifested this job using the law of attraction. I stated exactly what I wanted, I felt in my mind and emotions what it would feel like to have it happen, and I let it go and let the universe work its magic. It was easy; it was effortless. Some may call it coincidence, but I don't think so. And every time I slip and doubt that I'm capable of creating something in my life, this serves as a reminder to me that I absolutely can.

Friday, November 6, 2015

I run a Meetup group, and I'll never forget this one woman who was a member for a brief time. She attended an event I had posted, a Friday night dinner at a local tapas restaurant. She was a nice enough lady -- very friendly and personable -- but less than five minutes after meeting me and the other members, she bluntly announced that she was widowed. Twice. Her unhappiness about that was understandably obvious, but you could practically feel a mist of awkwardness descend over the table. I was a little taken aback because it's the sort of thing that might come up in conversation later in the evening once you've gotten to know everyone a bit better. Naturally, everyone said they were sorry to hear about her misfortune, and then she proceeded to tell us the details about each husband's ages and how long each marriage lasted. I felt that she could have benefited from a support group for widowers, if she didn't already belong to one. Now, there isn't anything wrong with divulging something sad about your life. But it can define you if you're doing it immediately and constantly with every new person that you meet. While I certainly felt sympathy for this woman and her situation, I've since learned from other people in mutual Meetup groups that this is a detail about her life that she divulges right away when meeting new people. As a result, she has made her victimization her calling card and the one thing that defines her out of everything else about her. Everyone knows her as the woman who tells people right away that two husbands died on her. It has become her identity. Sadly, I don't remember what she said she did for a living or anything else about her or her life -- this revelation overshadowed everything else, and that's a shame. She left the group the following day after the dinner -- not because of anything anyone said to her, but because she felt her age was going to be a problem, even though she was sitting right next to a woman that said she was the same age. I hope I don't sound like I'm unsympathetic towards anyone who went through something tough or emotionally traumatizing. Everyone has had something tragic happen in their lives, or to someone close to them. However, it may not be the best thing to bring up right away when first getting to know people. If it's your calling card, especially when you meet people for the first time, then no one is going to remember anything else about you.Conversely, I have a current member in my group who's living with a chronic illness, but I didn't learn about it until she had attended a few events. What I do know about her (and remember most even after she revealed her illness) is that she's a talented artist, and I admired the fact that she was able to not let her disease affect the way other people perceive her.The law of attraction teaches us that thoughts, feelings, and beliefs become things, and that the more attention you give to something and ruminate on it the more it expands and sticks around. It's one of the reasons why I don't pay much attention to having been laid off, being single, and anything else someone might see as potentially negative...nor do I make any of it my calling card. There's way more to you than anything bad that may have happened in your past. Don't let it define you.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Abundance is one of my favorite words in the English language. Even the very way it feels in your mouth when you say it mirrors its very quality; a feeling of fullness. But what exactly is abundance? It's a term that comes up all of the time in every LOA (law of attraction) book that I've read. To most people, it means money and wealth. They wouldn't be wrong; financial security can definitely give you a feeling of abundance. For me, personally, though, the word has a little more deeper meaning. I like to think of abundance as having an all encompassing, fulfilling life experience. It's having the financial security, certainly, and the ability and freedom to do what you want with your money. But it's also about living a life full of love, compassion, and purpose. It's having a job or career that fills you with passion that you enjoy doing. It's having wonderful people come into your life -- and having them stay there for a lifetime. It's being able to enjoy and appreciate -- each day for the gifts its brings, both big and miniscule. Right now I am working on attracting abundance into my own life. I want to meet new cool people and have a more active social life; I want to be invited to fun social functions and find more to post with my Meetup group. My freelance work fills me with purpose and passion and I want to have it parlay or morph into something more permanent, dependable, and higher paying. I want to attract a really great, available guy into my life and have a passionate connection and relationship. And of course, I love the idea of more money -- and unexpected money -- flowing into my life. An overflowing of blessings. Abundance is also knowing and trusting that the universe has more than enough for those who want it. It's the opposite of scarcity thinking, which is thinking that there's not enough jobs, money, partners, etc. to go around and that some people are going to have to do without. It's knowing that when something doesn't work out, there is something better in store down the road. I admit that this is a belief that I am working on myself to turn around. I realized recently that if one doesn't think the universe is abundant, all you have to do is look at nature. Right now the leaves and pine needles are coming down during our cool New England days, and the warmer weather birds have been flocking together and flying the coop for the southern states. The other day there must have been hundreds of blackbirds making a pass through our yard on their way to a warmer region. There are millions of living species on earth and billions of stars in the sky. The universe is expansive and abundant. Another way I'm seeing things from an abundant standpoint is by focusing on what I already have in my life, and not paying attention to what may seem like it's missing. And sometimes just saying that beautiful word helps.

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Hi, I'm Pam and thanks for visiting this site! I launched it because I'm a big believer in thinking positively and have been studying the law of attraction for several years now. Like anything else, it's a journey and a learning process and I wanted to share my experiences with other like-minded individuals. My hope is these teachings and what I learn can help make a difference to others' lives.